Britains biggest and most important possession, India was viewed as the jewel in the crown of the Empire. In the 1930s and 40s, the Indian independence movement picked up steam under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and other revolutionary leaders and by 1947, the country was given its independence. 50 years later, Hong Kong was handed back to China, and so came the symbolic end of the British Empire. Jul 1, 2017